We had a fun & relaxing (me anyway) weekend. Amy & Rob came up to visit. They always volunteer to help us with projects and we let them. :-). Rob helped Steve build a door for the chicken run and did some landscaping which required moving the dirt pile I hadn't gotten to yet. Thanks Rob! We put up the predator lights on Sunday along with window latches. Still a couple things to do, but isn't there always "one more thing" to do?

Rob & Steve working on the door.

The small black boxes are predator lights.

Amy & I harvested bunches of elderberries which we steam juiced afterward. I didn't get a pic of the elderberries in the steamer, but here are the apples & tomatoes I did earlier. FYI: I was stung by a wasp while we were harvesting, squeezed an elderberry on it, and the sting went away. Never knew it would do that.

We went out to eat at the Driftless Cafe for pizza later & then started a campfire. A few beers, a little wine, good conversation & a zillion stars watched later, it was time for bed.  Sunday morning after breakfast, Steve & I packed up some garlic orders for them to take back.

First canteloupe I've ever grown.

Too soon, it was time for them to head back home. We had a great time & Vinnie & Tigger miss a you guys :-).
I have to say that I am in love with the steamer/juicer I bought. It  is a Mehu-Liisa 10 Liter Stainless Steel Steam Juicer made in Finland. I keep thinking of new things to make in it. So far I've done tomato juice, spiced apple juice and elderberry juice. After juicing the tomatoes & apples, I used the food strainer & made a tomato puree which I added back into the juice for a thicker drink (along with peppers, celery, onion, garlic, etc.) and apple sauce, which I froze. Today, I made another batch of apples & tomorrow I hope to can the applesauce, I will run out of room in the small freezer we have if I don't start canning more. I also picked beets & turnips tonight. The turnips I peeled & sliced to dehydrate and the beets I will can in the morning along with the applesauce.
In between all that, I am still working on the website for garlic sales and trying to finish a baby afghan while a energetic kitten is playing with the yarn :-). Vinnie is still limping. He is a little better, but not much. He hop/walks now. We are keeping him inside as much as possible to rest.

Handsome boy Vinnie.

The chickens have adjusted well to the coop & run. They put themselves to bed after sunset. We haven't let them roam outside the run much yet. Vinnie is too interested in them & we don't want to risk a confrontation. Tigger has run inside the run, but they ignore him for the most part. They are used to seeing both Vinnie & Tigger and aren't scared. Can't wait to see the first egg which should be around September or October.